Moodle Tutorials: Setting up the Layout of Your Course Site

Setting up the Layout of Your Course Site

Moodle has five basic layouts that can be applied to a course site. On this page, we will go over how to choose and modify a layout so that it will meet the needs of your class.

Choosing a layout or format for your site:

1. From your course homepage, click on Settings at the top above the course content menu:

2. Scroll down until you find the Course Format tab (you might have to click on the title to open the section). Click on the pull-down menu in the far right of the Format line. 

The three most commonly used formats are:

• Weekly format: where the course site is automatically divided into sections labeled with weekly dates 
• Topics format: where the instructor defines the section breaks--Note that Topic format can be used to divide the course site into weekly sections, but the instructor will have to label each weekly section. Moodle will not automatically date the sections
• Collapsed Topics format which functions exactly the same as the Topics format only it adds the ability to toggle topic sections open or closed to eliminate clutter (see below).

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The other formats are used in very specific circumstances. The Single Activity format allows you to make a setup that is only oriented on a single topic or activity, for example a quiz. You can specify the the type of activity in Course Settings. The Social format strips the site of most functionality and provides the user with a single discussion forum. 

3. After choosing the layout format, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save changes.

Confirming the Start and End Date for your course:

1. In order for the Weekly format to function properly, you must set your Course start date. To set/confirm the Course start date, click on the Administration gear again, and choose Edit Settings.  Under the General tab you will find the Course start date line with calendar settings for the start of your course. By default, your course start date will be the same as the start date listed in Colleague. (Note--it's important to confirm that your course start date is correct even if you aren't using Weekly Topics).

Setting the Visibility of Your Site for Students:

This setting determines whether the site is available to students. If the course is set as hidden, students will not see the course site on their course list and will be unable to access it. To set it, go to the General tab (via Edit Settings) and look for the Course Visibility line. Select Show from the dropdown menu.